UFL week 5: Defenders rally from 15-point deficit to win at Renegades; St. Louis is only winner at home

April 28, 2025 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

A week after DC was victimized at home by San Antonio in the longest road trip, the Defenders responded on this week's longest road trip by rallying to a 37-33 win at Arlington on Sunday after trailing 27-12. Both teams were 3-1 entering the game, but DC exits with the best record in the XFL conference while the Renegades slip into a 3rd-place tie with St. Louis.

DC 37, Arlington 33 (Sunday)

9,554 watched in Choctaw Stadium as quarterback Jordan Ta’amu recorded a season-high 308 passing yards and matched a career-high with 4 touchdowns (1 rushing). After Arlington had to punt from its own 17-yard line, Ta’amu led the Defenders on a 46-yard drive in 7 plays, concluding with a Deon Jackson 2-yard TD run for DC's first and only lead of the game. Arlington's attempt to answer in the final minute ended with an interception on a 31-yard pass attempt at the goal line with 10 seconds left.

Perez, who was 23-of-33 for Arlington for 268 yards and 1 TD and the late INT, led Arlington to a 11-0 first quarter lead. It took just one play for the Renegades to go up 6-0 on a 63-yard pass from Perez to Deontay Burnett after DC punted on its opening drive. A two-point conversion pass to Javonta Payton made it 8-0.

DC drove, but after missing on a 58-yard field goal attempt by Matt McCrane, Arlington took over at its own 48 and used seven plays to go up 11-0 on a 39-yard Havrisik kick, his first of three on the day. His third and final field goal for Arlington came on a 47-yarder that extended Arlington's lead to 33-22 with 12:35 left in the game.

Ajene Harris had a league-leading third interception for Arlington. Derick Roberson and Andre Mintze each have a 4.5 sacks for the Defenders to lead the UFL in that category. Ta'amu leads all QB's with 242.6 yards passing per game

Get a complete recap of every game in The UFL this weekend.

Memphis 24, Birmingham 20 (Friday)

It started on Friday night when Birmingham and Memphis played the first overtime game of TheUFL in week five of its second season. The Stallions orchestrated a textbook two-minute drive to tie the game at 20 to force overtime, but couldn’t manage a score in the overtime period. Case Cookus (Northern Arizona) stepped in at quarterback for the Stallions, replacing injured starters Alex McGough and Matt Corral. Cookus, formerly with Memphis, completed 15-of-33 passes for 145 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He was also the Stallions’ leading rusher with 83 yards on six carries.

Overtime in The UFL is a best-of-three shootout. Teams alternate two-point plays from 5 yards out. Memphis converted bookend attempts around Birmingham's failed try..

It was the Showboats' first-ever win against the Stallions, improving to 1-4 in the series and 1-4 on the season. Birmingham fell to 3-2.

Only 9,127 were on hand in Birmingham to cheer for the three-time defending spring football champs.

St. Louis 32, Michigan 27

30,406 watched St. Louis take an exciting 32-27 win over Michigan on the lone UFL contest on Saturday. The back-and-forth affair saw the home Battlehawks score first on a 44-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship, but the Panthers came right back to take their first lead at 6-3 on a 12-yard TD pass from Bryce Perkins (Virginia) to tight end Gunnar Oakes (Eastern Michigan).

Max Duggan's 1-yard TD run made it 9-6 St. Louis with 5:36 to play in the second, and the lead was stretched to 17-6 at the half on an 8-yard rushing score by Duggan (TCU), followed by a successful 2-point conversion pass to Jake Sutherland (Morehead State) who had set up Duggan's TD with a 20-yard reception. After the two minute warning, Kameron Kelly picked off Michigan QB Danny Etling's pass at his own 33 and returned it 37 yards to the Panthers' 30. After a 20-yard pass to tight end Jake Sutherland (Morehead State), Duggan ran the 8-yard score and returned to Sutherland for a successful two-point conversion to make the score 17-6 entering half time.

A 28-yard field goal to start the second half increased the margin to 20-6, but Michigan was not done. The Panthers completed a 75-yard, 12 -play drive in 6:25 with Perkins' 20-yard pass to WR Malik Turner, and after St. Louis was forced to punt from its own 14, Michigan was in business again at its own 44. A first down 45-yard completion to Siaosi Mariner (Utah State) put the Panthers on the 12. Three plays later, Tua Taua (Nevada) ran 5 yards for the score and Nate McCrary (Saginaw Valley State) made it 21-20, Michigan.

St. Louis needed just two plays to retake the lead at 26-21 with a 67-yard TD pass to Hakeem Butler after a first-down 1-yard run by Jacob Saylors (ETSU).

Michigan's ensuing drive took 8 plays and 5:04 to cover 77 yards to go back on top, 27-26, on a 4-yard rushing score by Taua. but St, Louis needed only two plays and 49 seconds as WR Blake Jackson (Mary Hardin-Baylor) hit Butler for a 57-yard touchdown reception on a reverse play for the 32-27 advantage with 6:21 left on the clock. Michigan was subsequently forced into a turnover on downs with 1:L53 left in the game, ultimately cementing the win for the Battlehawks.

Houston 27, San Antonio 3

The Roughnecks traveled southwest to take on the Brahmas at the Alamodome and things did not go well for the home team. Houston improved to 2-3 after the 27-3 romp while San Antonio slipped to 1-4 after playing in the championship game a year ago. Now, after starting 1-11 since the XFL/USFL merger, the Roughnecks have won two out of their last three games. It was a disappointing ending for the home faithful among the 14,227 in attendance that set a new home record for the Brahmas.

Kellen Mond was just 4-of-9 passing for 35 yards and an INT for San Antonio, and Jarrett Guarantano was only 6-of-15 for 29 yards and an INT.

Houston had the ball for 37:10, compared to just 22:50 for San Antonio and ran 65 plays to the Brahmas' 42.

Note

Home teams were 1-3 over the weekend with St. Louis the only victors in friendly confines. The Battlehawks are 7-1 at home over the 1-1/2 seasons of The UFL. St. Louis will be home again this week with Arlington coming to town in a match of teams that are both 3-2 in the XFL Conference.

UFL Standings

Legend:
SoS=Strength of Schedule
SoV=Strength of Victory
c=Clinched Conference
p=clinched playoff
e=Eliminated

XFL Conference	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	Conf	ConfPct.	Streak	SoS	SoV
DC Defenders	4	1	.800	117	95	2-1	2-0	2-1	.667	Won 1	.440	.500
Arlington Renegades	3	2	.600	116	80	3-1	0-1	2-1	.667	Lost 1	.520	.400
St. Louis Battlehawks	3	2	.600	119	99	2-1	1-1	1-2	.333	Won 1	.520	.400
San Antonio Brahmas	1	4	.200	68	130	0-1	1-3	1-2	.333	Lost 1	.600	.800

 

USFL Conference	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	Conf	ConfPct.	Streak	SoS	SoV
Birmingham Stallions	3	2	.600	85	79	1-1	2-1	2-1	.667	Lost 1	.520	.533
Michigan Panthers	3	2	.600	118	97	2-1	1-1	2-1	.667	Lost 1	.360	.200
Houston Roughnecks	2	3	.400	76	85	0-2	2-1	1-1	.500	Won 1	.440	.200
Memphis Showboats	1	4	.200	74	108	0-2	1-2	1-3	.250	Won 1	.600	.600

Week 5 Results (Home Team in BOLD):

Friday, April 25
Memphis 24, Birmingham 20 (9,127 at Protective Stadium, Birmingham)

Saturday, April 26
St. Louis 32, Michigan 27 (30,406 at The Dome at America's Center, St. Louis)

Sunday, April 27
DC 37, Arlington 33 (9,554 at Choctaw Stadium, Arlington)
Houston 27, San Antonio 3 (14,227 at The Alamodome, San Antonio)

Week 6 Games (all times eastern)

Arlington at St. Louis, May 2 | 8:00 PM | FOX
Memphis at Houston, Saturday, May 3 | 12:00 PM | ABC
DC at Michigan, Sunday, May 4 | 12:00 PM | ESPN-2
San Antonio at Birmingham, Sunday, May 4 | 4:00 PM | FOX